Small island for sale, careful owner, excellent condition

Johnathan Pearce (London) · European affairs

I rather like this story about one of the smallest islands in the Channel Islands group being up for sale, or at least its lease is.

I like this detail:

Herm is the first Channel Island to go on sale for years. The asking price for the 40-year lease includes a manor house, 13th century chapel, 80 acres of farmland complete with a dairy herd and what is thought to be the world’s smallest jail.

And this:

Buyers could in effect have their own tax haven, paying 20% on income and avoiding death duties and capital gains, in common with other Channel Islands residents.

The only catch is that the price tag is £15 million.

As to whether the new owner of the property would be in a position to declare self-government and become an independent state, I am not sure. It would be a nice idea, though. Here’s a book on the subject.

As a Pimlico resident, I naturally would be amused to see if we could ever follow the example of a brilliant 1940s movie.

Ian B

May 19, 2008 at 9:25 am

I think whether you can declare self-government comes down to whether you’ve got a big enough army to fight off the previous claimant, which would be unlikely in this case. Declaring independence never goes down well. If they let one person do it, everyone would be at it.

I sometimes daydream about a group of libertarians declaring a new independent nation and creating a free utopia with the world’s most dynamic economy, leading to a worldwide revolution in thinking and so on. The realist in me suspects though that it’d just be overrun with nutballs and within a year would have broken down into civil war and cannibalism, that kind of thing. But it’s nice to daydream.

Anyone with 15 megaquids to blow on an island is as close to free as can be in this world anyway. I’d hire Hawkwind to come and play at my birthday party, and sit on the beach admiring the seals. And I’d marry a nice woman who can bake perfect eccles cakes. Paradise.

May 19, 2008 at 11:02 am

Well, I got smit. Guess it was the eccles cakes.

Paul Marks

May 19, 2008 at 11:16 am

Eccles cakes are nice.

As for Hern – it is under the Bailiwick of Guernsey and does not (as far as I know) have the tax autonomy that Sark has (Sark has for the present anyway – f****** Barclay twins), hence the 20% income tax.

But, unlike Jersey, there is no sales tax – again at least for the present.

D.C.

May 19, 2008 at 2:44 pm

That would be a very interesting investment. Although, it reminds me of the situation with the Sealand Principality in the British Isles. It was for sale a while back for an outlandish price (and it’s not even really an island!)

I am sure someone will buy this island though. Wouldn’t it be great to be called king or queen?

Paul

May 19, 2008 at 2:53 pm

Well the Isle of Man has a maximum 18% income tax, (no one pays more than £100,000 no matter how much they earn in a year, does not apply to me I regret to say) no capital gains, no death duties very low “council” tax and a lot more room than any of the Channel isles.

Of course it’s not up for sale and VAT at 17.5% applies to most goods……………ah well 🙂

Kevin B

May 19, 2008 at 10:44 pm

We could have a whip round and send all the greens over there.

They could practice sustainable organic farming to their heart’s content and we could cut off their mainland energy supplies so they can test out solar and wind power to keep themselves warm and cook their organic veggies.

I reckon we’ve even got enough of a navy left to quarantine the place.

We could even collect up all the useless CCTV cameras we have and install them round the island. It would make a great* reality TV show.

We could call it ‘Barons and Serfs’

*Well probably not great, but at least average.

May 19, 2008 at 11:09 pm

Actually, I say the series wasn’t great, but the ‘epidemic’ episodes in the second season, (Winter), were quite gripping.

Who can forget the desperate search of the herb garden for the right kinds of plants, and the trial and punishment of Neville and Crystal for hoarding smuggled aspirin. Good job those stocks survived in the world’s smallest jail. And when the islanders stood on the cliff waving forlornly to the Navy patrol boat, and the jolly sailors, (misunderstanding the problem), waved cheerily back.

Although, by the sixth series I thought they’d jumped the shark. Witch trials. I mean, seriously. Who would believe such nonsense.

Tim Newman

May 19, 2008 at 11:31 pm

That’s not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, especially for some people with whom I share a country of residence, albeit nobody with £15m sticks around Sakhalin very long.

May 20, 2008 at 8:15 am

Herm’s great. My parents live on Guernsey and I nearly always go to Herm for a day when I’m there. It’s the first place my son went to the beach.

I’d buy it if i had the money.

I’ve got to say Guernsey isn’t much of a tax haven for ordinary people – 20% income tax and social taxes on top of that. I believe my father is paying 30% overall. It’s only the rich that get to negotiate special rates.

nick g.

May 21, 2008 at 4:44 am

Here’s a better idea- move to Hutt River Province! on april the 21st, 1970, Prince Leonard declared his land to be an independent nation within the state of Western Australia, based on a loophole in the original deeds of settlement. (He calls himself a prince, since only his family live there, so he has no subjects to tax.)
For nearly forty years, he has survived, as has Hutt River. He won’t last forever! If you migrate there to set up a Libertarian society, then you could re-affirm the independence when he passes on to his reward! On it’s website, it describes itself as about the size of Hong Kong without the new territories- Big enough for a city to grow up on!
Then Nain City, once it has a volunteer army of millions of libertarians, could invade and liberate Australia!
After that, the world!
Yes, it’s an ambitious program, but you need to think big to build big!
Anyway, at least google ‘Hutt River Province’ for yourself. It has its’ own website.

May 23, 2008 at 5:30 pm

Yes jb – the emergancy 20% income tax introduced in World War II is still there.

And the “social” taxes also exist.

Still G. is better than Britain (not that is difficult) or even J. (given that J. is going in for a sales tax as well).

Only Sark reminds people of what the tax structure of the Islands used to be like.

And even Sark is changing – with what used to be a one page “tax code” now being the size of a small book.

Curse the Barclay twins and their European “Human Rights” – it was a black day for Sark when they came, and the damage they have done (and are doing) is unlikely to be reversed.